Funistrada means excellent Italian food “off the beaten path”

By Norm Wheeler
Sun editor

I lounged in a hammock dozing and thumbing the pages of Diane Ackerman’s book “A Natural History of the Senses” as a northeast breeze nudged the maple leaves over my head. A red-shouldered hawk gave a single cry as it just missed the indigo bunting it hunted in a sudden plummet. Some enchanting scent was riding the air current up to Echo Valley from Burdickville. It wasn’t the burnt smell of roasting coffee I sometimes nose when the north wind is strong over Glen Arbor. No, this was making me hungry. It was oregano! Someone had a pot full of bubbling tomato sauce simmering downwind, and I was determined to find the source of that heavenly smell. There was garlic in it too, and the promise of Chianti served in a wicker bottle by a woman like the one in “Il Postino.” So I quick-peddled down the green tunnel of Echo Valley Road to find a new Italian country restaurant just opening near Miller’s Resort. Tom and Holly Reay have hatched their dream, their own eatery at the former Glen Lake Inn in Burdickville.
Holly Reay, holding darling daughter Carson while the harried crew prepared for their first “big night”, explained the origin of the name “Funistrada.” “In 1974 the Army did a food preference survey,” Holly said, “and they threw in the word “Funistrada” to see if the guys filling out the survey were really paying attention. Well, “Funistrada” was checked off as better than eggplant, instant coffee, pickled beets, and grilled bologna!” Tom and Holly were married on a Kentucky Derby day, May 3, 1997, when one of the horses running the race was named, you guessed it, “Funistrada.” And then their Italian friend Sal told them that it means, loosely translated, “off the beaten path.” Tom Reay chimes in “These were all great connections, so that’s what we named our restaurant.”
The old Glen Lake Inn is no stranger to many of us, having been a favorite supper club run by the Frank Hockstein’s from 1970 to 1993. Tom recalled “It specialized in German fare and was known for its great martinis. The same people came at the same time on the same weekday for years. It was almost like a private supper club for locals.” Brian Hockstein tried to run it for a year, and for the past three years it has been Jack’s Glen Lake Inn, run by Jack Russell. I asked Tom Reay why he and Holly took it over. “It’s the old American dream of being self-employed,” Tom replied. “You have to be crazy to own a restaurant, so I’m qualified.”
Tom and Holly have plenty of experience in local food service establishments. Tom worked at Art’s Tavern in Glen Arbor for 13 years. Holly managed the Village Inn in Empire for 2 years, and Tom joined her there for another year. They supervised the renovation of the kitchen and the menu while there. Says Tom, “We played with somebody else’s money and made it work, so we thought OK, we can take the risk.”
Funistrada is a “trattoria,” an Italian bistro serving informal, peasant/country style cooking. Why did they choose Italian? “No one else in this area does it,” says Tom, “and it’s my favorite kind of food.” The restaurant seats sixty including a bar that seats four. They specialize in fresh seafood and only use fresh ingredients. Tom declares “You can’t make good stuff out of bad stuff!” Core menu items include Veal Scallopini, Marlin, Red Snapper, and pasta. “We aim to see what people want and to tailor the menu over time,” says Holly Reay. Adds Tom, “We have NO whitefish.”
So on my 39th birthday I take my wife Mimi and daughter Julia to Funistrada. Holly greets us warmly, the staff is friendly and welcoming. We read the menu boards and then ooh and aah and dance our eyebrows over the appetizers: calamari, broiled asparagus with prosciutto and mascarpone cheese, and steamed mussels. Tom comes out in his starched white chef’s jacket and explains that the pasta is air dried from Italy, and not microwaved as is most ordinary pasta these days. All entrees are served with a side dish of pasta and a choice of sauces. They include Veal Picatta (“Provimi veal,” Tom assures, “the best kind.”), Broiled Lemon Chicken, Eggplant Parmesan, or NY Strip au poivre with a balsamic reduction sauce. Julia gets linguine with clams in white wine and declares it to be light and fresh, somehow not as heavy as pasta is usually, somehow healthier. Mimi goes for the lemon asparagus penne and responds to my queries with only head nods and contented, satisfied sighs, the nonverbal communications of someone in the middle of a great meal. My plate of spaghetti with calamari fra diablo is subtly spicey, full of delicate nuances, balanced just right with garlic and herbs, delicious.
The portions are huge. Everyone leaving is grasping a doggiebag container like a quarterback holds the football on a rollout. We do the same, and then I get to finish everyone’s the next day for lunch. I head for the hammock for a nap, tasting the calamari, the lemon penne, the clams in white wine. From the great bread with rosemary olive oil we started with, to the sweetly layered homemade tiramisu we washed down with coffee, I relive the great service, the fun, the friendly faces, and the fresh food we experienced at Funistrada. As I doze, sniffing the air for another story, I think to myself how this wonderful little Italian restaurant is sort of hiding in Burdickville, so “off the beaten path,” and if I don’t talk about it too much there will always be a seat available for me. So can you keep a secret? There’s now a wonderful Italian restaurant in Burdickville! Do yourself a favor and visit Funistrada for supper soon. But don’t tell anybody!! Or pretty soon I’ll be quoting Yogi Berra, who once kept other eager eaters away from his favorite Italian restaurant by saying: “Oh, nobody goes there, it’s too crowded!”
Funistrada serves Tuesday – Sunday from 5 pm – 10:30 pm. Call 334-3900 for reservations.